The Unseen Shades of Grey
by KetsuBear
Summary: Black and white does not exist to Sakura Haruno. Not as she once thought when she was a naive member of Team 7. In her world, there is no concept of Good or Evil. There is no standard for Right or Wrong. It is all objective. Her world is the world of the ninja, and it is teeming with unseen shades of grey. Pein/Sakura with hinted previous Gaara/Sakura and sibling love Naruto/Sakura
1. Simple Beginnings

Chapter 1 – Simple Beginnings

It started out with a simple enough mission. The Kazekage was in need of a medical teacher to train some workers at Suna's main hospital. Sakura was the best Konoha had, excluding Tsunade. When Sakura had arrived at Konoha's hospital at 7 am sharp for her shift, one of the women at the reception desk informed her that Tsunade had requested her presence in her office. As Sakura walked down the large white halls of the hospital, she brushed through her silky pink locks with her fingers and patted out the few wrinkles in her long white medical coat. "I knew I shouldn't have left it lying on the couch last night!" she mumbled quietly to herself.

Arriving at the large set of double doors at the end of the hall, she knocked lightly and waited. A few seconds later, Tsunade called for her to enter. Upon opening the door, Sakura quickly took notice of every detail within room. Tsunade was sitting, hunched over at her desk with her head in her hands and an open bottle of sake. There were two other people in the room as well, one Sakura had recognized as Temari from Suna, and the other was an unknown male ninja. Sakura didn't even need to see the man's headband to know he was from Suna. Slightly baggy clothes that seemed to wrap around most of his body, dusty brown hair, sun-tanned skin – there was no other village he could have come from.

Turning her attention back to her sensei, Sakura asked with mild curiosity, "What is it you called me for, Tsunade-sensei?" The busy blonde woman looked up from her hands and sighed heavily.

"Sakura-san, Suna is in desperate need of some medical assistance. They have agreed to send over a handful of soldiers and some high-class representatives in return for a small medical squad." Sakura nodded curtly.

'So she would just like my recommendation for who we should send. Let's see, Yuri is quite skilled at teaching how to control the chakra flow when healing…and Ino, stupid pig, is nearly unparalleled at knowledge of human anatomy. Natsu is quite good for-'

"I need you to select two other qualified members of our medical staff and accompany Temari-san and Katoru-san to Suna. There, you will be teaching a small group of their most talented doctors and return once you see them fit to be on their own. I estimate this mission should take you roughly 3 months, give or take a week, and you're leaving in 2 hours. Please inform me of who you'd like to choose so I can inform them as well, and then go pack immediately. A nurse will be sent from the hospital to take care of your mother while you are gone"

Sakura's mind when from confusion, to understanding, to frozen, to conflicted in a matter of seconds. Rational Sakura began thinking of all of her patients that she had been working with who weren't fully healed, of her mother who could barely walk by let alone take of herself for that long, of her friends who she had plans with this weekend. But Inner Sakura was raving about finally having a mission, being able to get out and stretch her muscles, wanting something to go wrong so that she could engage in fight once again.

"Yes Tsunade-san," Sakura replied, almost automatically. She shook her head lightly, closing her emerald orbs for a second to clear her mind, before opening them again. "I would like to recommend Ino Yamanaka and Natsume Hiroshi." Tsunade scribbled down the names and then nodded, signaling Sakura's dismissal. As she turned to leave, Temari added, "We'll be waiting at the village gates in exactly two hours; please don't be late Sakura-san." Sakura turned back briefly.

"Of course not Temari-san. Two hours." And boy did those two hours pass fast. Sakura had just finished packing her basic medical supplies, scrolls, weapons, and expenses when she looked over at the clock and saw that she only had half an hour left. Sakura slid out of her medical coat and scrubs and walked over to her dark wooden dresser. Pulling out the very bottom drawer, she bent down to pick out a long-sleeved black shirt and tight black pants. After stepping into the pants and pulling the shirt over her head, she plopped down on her fluffy queen-sized bed to pull her ninja sandals on.

With a huff, Sakura laid back on her bed and stared at the ceiling for a moment. She let her mind go completely blank as she snuggled into her soft white comforter. It was going to be a couple months until she got to lay back in this bed, her bed.

Pushing those thoughts aside, she rose again and went back to the dresser. She pulled out the drawer next to the one previously opened and removed five pieces of shining silver armor. There were two shin guards, two forearm protectors, and a chest plate. It took her all of 3 minutes to strap everything on. Last but not least came her Anbu mask. A small, sorrow-filled smile crept onto her face when she looked at it. A fox, with small pointy ears, squinted and flared eyes, and those trademark whiskers. It was Naruto's old mask.

Sakura slid it onto her face and inhaled deeply. No matter how many times she wore it and washed it, his scent always lingered within. The slight salty smell of ramen, mixed with his own musky scent, and her sweet one. She absolutely loved it.

Sakura grabbed her backpack and slid it on, adjusting the straps so it sat higher on her back, that way the added weight didn't throw off her center of gravity. Next came the kunai holster on her right thigh, and the little pouch for shuriken on the back of her left hip. Sliding a senbon needle behind each of her ears, she bid her mother fare well and left to the village gates.

It only took her 10 minutes by rooftop to arrive. Ino and Natsu were already there, dressed exactly the same as she was, except with different masks. Sakura gave them a small nod, handing each a little earpiece before slipping one into her own right ear. She turned to Temari and Katoru, offering them earpieces as well. Katoru took his silently but as Temari reached for hers, Sakura pulled her into a tight hug. "It's good to see you again Tema-chan." Temari smiled, hugging back briefly before pulling away and leading the party through the gates and out of the village.

"You too Sakura-chan. We'll catch up more once we reach the village tomorrow." Sakura nodded and followed her out, moving to stand beside her as they began the small trip. Once up in the trees and into full travel, their group took the normal formation. Sakura and Temari were up front, with at least 20 feet in between them. In the middle was Natsu, 50 feet back. 50 feet behind him were Ino and Katoru, again with at least 20 feet between them. With a quick click of her earpiece, Sakura called out, "Checking all headsets, is everyone working?"

Temari was the first to answer. "Temari, here."

"Natsume, ready to go."

"Ino, I'm all set."

"Katoru, check"

"Great. Temari, what's the risk of ambush?" Sakura asked, scanning as far as 100 feet ahead of her.

"Bandits 60%, Rogue Ninja 35%, Assassins 12%." Temari answered after a pause. Sakura chuckled silently to herself as she pictured Temari counting on her fingers as she called out the numbers.

"Looks like we're in for pretty smooth sailing" Ino buzzed in Sakura's ear.

"Yeah, those are pretty good odds for a B level mission!" Natsu laughed.

"Well just in case, be on alert. Temari, let's get everybody to Suna safe and fast, yes?" Sakura called, smiling lightly as she raced across the treetops.

"Wouldn't have it any other way!" Temari called back, the lightheartedness evident in her voice.

Their first break was 5 hours later. After a bit of arguing over when to stop, who was hungry, and how bad Natsu had to pee, Temari and Sakura finally settled on a brief 20 minute break. Suna was still a whole 23 hours away and that was with no breaks. They were all professional ninja and could easily make that run non-stop if they had to, but the casual air around this mission made it easier to take breaks and even probably stop for the night and sleep.

Sakura's earpiece buzzed again as she heard Temari's voice come through. "Katoru, go with Natsu to pee. Sakura, you and I will do a perimeter check and Ino…stand there and look pretty, you'll be our landmark." Sakura nearly busted out laughing, as did the rest of the team, and Ino leaned against a tree with big smile.

"Will do Temari-chan!" Ino laughed. Sakura got to 200 feet out and started making her roundabout perimeter check as Temari did hers at 100 feet out. Three-fourths of the way through her check, Sakura came to an immediate halt.

"Everybody, quiet!" she hissed through the speaker and she crouched down, completely still on the tree branch and listened. Her earpiece went silent and Sakura turned her head slowly to scan the area. She has heard a small noise, almost like scratching on a door. After a couple seconds, she heard it again, but louder and closer. A couple seconds later, her eyes connected with a small pair of ravens in the distance.

As she watched them, one opened its beak and let out a loud CAW. So that was the noise she heard…it was just a bird. Smiling, Sakura shook her head and rolled her eyes. "My bad guys, false alarm. It was just a couple of birds. Stupid ravens scared the living-" Sakura froze again, her eyes widening in fear.

"Sakura…" Ino called through the earpiece. "Sakura…ravens aren't indigenous to this forest. Sakura stood up, stretching a little and hiding the terror that was setting into her bones.

"Sakura, you know what this means-" Temari began, but Sakura cut her off as she began to finish her perimeter check.

"They scared the living hell out of me! I've never been much a fan of birds." Sakura faked a small chuckle. "Well, my perimeter check is almost done, and then we can take our break and be on our way. It shouldn't be long until we're in Suna." Sakura called.

"But Sakura, those ravens mean that-" Natsu whispered in a panicked voice.

"Enough Natsume. We will discuss that when we regroup." Sakura's words were harsh, but they did there job because her earpiece went silent again. Finishing her part of the check, Sakura returned to her group. Landing down on the forest floor with an almost inaudible thump, Sakura looked at each member of her team and smiled. "I know what those birds mean. We have 10 minutes to rest, then we continue on. We don't stop until we get to the Sand Village. If we're lucky, we'll all make it there unharmed. But just in case, be ready to engage in battle. Mask your chakras and prepare your weapons." She said, her own fear slipping through as she spoke. "We very well might soon be facing Akatsuki."


	2. Shit Out of Luck

Chapter 2 – Shit Out of Luck

For Sakura, the ten minute break seemed to take hours. Her guard was up and alert was on high. Ravens don't belong in this forest. They don't belong anywhere near Konoha, whose boundaries her group was still well within. That could only mean one thing. Itachi Uchiha. With Itachi, naturally came his partner, Kisame Hoshigaki. They were both incredibly lethal and that was not a fight that anyone in her team was ready to engage in.

Finally, the ten minutes ran out and everyone rose to begin traveling yet again. The next three hours were filled with silence and the sensation of fear permeated the air. Another four hours went by with no sign of danger. Only two more hours until they hit the boarder. The tension started to relieve itself once they were 3 hours into Suna. Small chat began between Temari and Sakura and pretty soon, the whole group joined in. With only 6 hours to Suna, Temari called for another break, this time it being her who had to use the restroom.

The same procedures were taken as the last break, this time with no disturbances by the ravens. Sakura sat with Natsu and Katoru and Ino went with Temari to relieve herself. Five minutes passed and Sakura removed her mask and set it down next to her. After rubbing the tiredness out of her eyes, she began digging around in her pack for food of any sort. She leaned back against the tree and let out a loud sigh of disappointment when she didn't find anything.

"Hey, do either of you guys have food? I'm starving!" Sakura asked, glancing over at the two chatting boys. Natsu frowned, his stomach growling loudly in the brief silence.

"Nope, but now that you mention it, I'm freaking hungry too!" Natsu laughed, peering over at Katoru. The sand ninja reached into his pouch and pulled out a partially eaten fruit bar.

"I already had some of it, but if you don't mind that then it's yours." He smiled kindly, handing it to Sakura. Her mouth began to water a bit as she reached over to grab it. Within inches of touching it, Natsu lunged forward and nearly tackled Katoru's arm to get the food. It disappeared into his mouth in two bites. Burping happily, Natsu rolled onto his back between Sakura and Katoru, who looked at him with a mix of shock and anger.

"You asshole, that was for me!" Sakura scolded, punching Natsu in the arm. A small scuffle began between her and Natsu. Sakura eventually ended up sitting on Natsu, ready to give a victory speech, when she heard Katoru talking quietly.

"Yes, it was intended for Haruno-san. Too bad, I really wanted a bit of a challenge, but looks like I don't get that anymore." He mumbled, standing up and brushing his pants off. A look of pure confusion crossed Sakura's face as she turned her attention to Katoru.

"What are you talking about?" she questioned, her guards still quite low from the laid back atmosphere that she was previously indulged in. Katoru merely smiled and nodded down at Natsu. Following his gaze, Sakura realized that the man she was sitting on was no longer conscious.

"NATSU!" Sakura yelled, her hands flying to his throat to check for a pulse. She relaxed a bit when she felt the slow throb against her fingers. "What did you do to him?" She asked coldly, looking back at Katoru. The man shrugged.

"Just some sleeping pills, it'll wear off in a couple hours. They were meant for you though, it would have made this all a lot easier." Katoru looked up at the trees and brought his hands up to cup around his mouth. He let out a loud, intricate bird call that echoed lightly in the forest. Sakura pulled Natsu to a tree and leaned him against it, crouching protectively in front of him.

"What do you want?" She spat out. "Who are you?" Katoru only chuckled.

"It's not what **I** want Haruno-san. It's what **THEY** want. I am merely a pawn." Sakura reached into her kunai holster and pulled out two kunai, holding one in each hand and taking a defensive stance.

"I'm warning you Katoru, whatever you are planning, you better stop now. You're outnumbered and outmatched!" Sakura glared hard at him.

"Outnumbered?" Katoru asked, looking around with fake confusion. "Really now? I count only one conscious member on your side." Sakura paused, scanning the area not only visually, but for chakra signs. Her scan came up negative on both.

"Where are Temari and Ino? I swear if you lay a hand on them-"

"Haruno-san I've told you this already. I am merely a pawn. I haven't touched your precious friends. The dirty work is left to the Akatsuki." Sakura's breath caught in her throat.

"You – you're working with the Akatsuki?" She asked cautiously.

"I am working **FOR** the Akatsuki. They pay well, provide alibis and promise power. How could I refuse?"

"So what do you, what do the Akatsuki, want?"

Katoru paused and smiled. "YOU, Haruno-san."

Sakura scoffed. "Well good luck with that. I don't go down without a fight and I damn sure wont lose to you."

"It's not me you'll be fighting." Katoru chuckled and stepped aside. Through the trees behind him approached two dark figures. Both large, but the one on the right was of massive size height. 'Oh no.' Sakura though to herself. 'Shit, shit, shit. How the hell am I going to get out of this?'

"Hey Pinkie!" The man on the right shouted in a deep, booming voice. "Long time, no see." As the two men stepped into the light, Sakura's fears were confirmed. Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki. "Ohhhh look Itachi" Kisame said in wonder as he leaned down a bit "You can actually SEE the fear in her eyes!" Itachi looked over at Katoru.

"You did well Tomogaku-san, but you're presence is no longer needed. You're pay will be waiting for you at the residence previously discussed."

"Yes Uchiha-san." Katoru bowed and took his leave quickly. "Now Haruno-san, we can do this one of two ways…the easy way, or the hard way."

"Let me guess," Sakura spat sarcastically. "The easy way is I do what you want and nobody gets hurt. The hard way is this turns into a fight that nobody wants?" Kisame let out a loud chuckle and Itachi even smiled.

"No Pinkie. The easy was is this turns into a fight, we beat the shit out of you until you surrender, kill your friend mercifully, and then take you with us. The hard way is we beat the shit out of you to the brink of unconsciousness, wake up your friend, I hold you down and make you watch as Itachi puts him through the Mangekyou, leave him half brain-dead in some part of this forest for wolves to pick off, and then take you with us." Kisame's smirk grew larger as he progressed through their plans and Sakura merely paled.

'I have to try and make a run for it…Suna isn't too terribly far. If I could cause a distraction and get a head start, I have enough chakra left to outrun them and make it to Suna in just under 2 hours.'

"And if I chose to surrender without a fight?" Sakura asked, slowly setting her kunai down on each side of her.

"I think we both know that won't happen Haruno-san." Itachi smiled.

"No…I supposed not." Sakura mumbled. In a flash Sakura pulled three kunai with exploding tags from her holster and threw them at the feet of Itachi and Kisame. As they exploded, she threw down a few smoke bombs and threw Natsu over her shoulder. In a matter of seconds, she was on the run.

As she jumped from tree to tree, she would occasionally try to tear them down to try and slow down her pursuers. In all of her panic, she nearly missed a branch and stumbled onto it, taking less than a second to recover and keep moving.

'This isn't happening. This can't be happening. Naruto, where are you when I need you!' She though. 'I just have to make it to Suna…or close to it. The ninja there should be able to sense the Akatsuki chakra from at least a couple miles!'

"It's no use Pinkie, we will catch you! Especially with that added weight you have there." Kisame shouted from not too far behind her. Sakura threw down more smoke bombs and pushed as much chakra as she could into her feet. Once she got to a couple minutes ahead of them, she realized that he was right, her plan was flawed. Sakura hadn't taken into account just how much Natsu had weighed. The added pounds would put wear and tear on her muscles and so she'd have to reserve some chakra to constantly heal that. They would catch her.

Sakura threw down here last couple smoke bombs, as well as a few more exploding tags. 'Plan B…the transportation scroll. It can only move one person though. Fuck. I don't want to die. Oh god I really don't want to die. But I've caused two deaths already. I won't be responsible for a third!' Sakura thought, dropping from the tree's and onto the ground. She sat Natsu down and pulled the emergency scroll from between her cleavage. Inner Sakura snorted, laughing at how boobs finally came in handy.

Unraveling the scroll, Sakura bit the tip of her finger and drew blood just at the two Akatsuki landed down a few feet in front of her. "Don't be doing anything stupid now Pinkie, you're friend's life is on the line here." Kisame glared at the scroll, trying to figure out what it said.

"I won't have another death on my conscience." Sakura yelled, wiping her blood on Natsu's forehead and then smearing it across the scroll. He poofed away in a cloud a smoke as Kisame lunged at Sakura. He caught her by the throat and slammed her hard into the ground.

"Where did you send him!" Kisame growled.

"To a place where you cannot reach him." Sakura choked out, a small smile on her face. "Back to Konoha." Sakura moved her hands from trying to pry his off of her neck, to reach down to her kunai holster. Her fingers brushed the casing when a foot was suddenly pressed against her arm with a pressure that made her cry out.

"You sent him, but not yourself as well?" Itachi asked, pressing down with his foot so hard that Sakura though her arm would shatter.

"The scroll only carries one." She gritted out from between her teeth.

"You made a noble choice." Itachi said and Sakura paused, turned to look up at him with surprise. "A noble choice…but a wrong one." The last thing Sakura saw before she blacked out was a foot coming very fast towards her face.

When she awoke, it was due to the feeling of a sharp jab into her rip cage every couple of seconds. It was a dull pain, like poking a bruise, but it made her groan nonetheless. She opened her eyes, but still saw nothing but never ending darkness. It suddenly hit Sakura that the familiar weight of her headband was no longer on her head, but instead it was balanced on the bridge of her nose. 'So they used my own headband to blind fold me. I must admit that is quite clever.'

"Oi Itachi, I think Pinkie here woke up." Kisame chuckled. From the proximity of his voice, she guessed that he was the one carrying her.

"Well then Kisame, put her back to sleep." Sakura heard Itachi grumble. If not for the current situation, Sakura would have laughed. Itachi sounded like an annoyed mother who just told her son to do the most obvious of tasks.

"Sir, yes sir, Sgt. Stick-Up-The-Ass." Kisame replied sarcastically. Sakura has just started to giggle when she felt a small pressure at the base of her neck. In an instant, Sakura returned back to the realm of dark, ignorant, bliss.


	3. Your Life Is a Lie

Chapter 3 – Your Life Is a Lie

Sakura awoke to the sound of water dripping. It was a constant drip, once every 5 seconds, and it hit a spot close enough to her face that she would get hit by part of the minuscule splash. Groaning, she rolled over to face away from the pestering water. "You're awake." A husky voice stated from a small distance away. In an instant, Sakura's eyes snapped open as she recalled the previous day's events. The mission, her team, Katoru, the Akatsuki.

Forcing her body to keep a steady breathing, she attempted to play off her awakening. "Five more minutes mom…I'll make breakfast when I get up." She droned out with just the right amount of sleepiness laced into her voice. Simultaneously, she began to take in her surroundings. From the way she was facing, all she could see is sheer concrete wall a few feet in front of her. The wall was riddled with cracks, chips, and dark stains that, given her circumstances, she reasonably assumed were blood.

"Don't play games with me kunoichi. You'll find, to your disappointment, that I always win them." Sakura didn't even have to be facing the man to pick up on the smile in his tone.

'Why the hell are these Akatsuki so casual?' Sakura wondered. 'So much for being a professional organization of killers…I feel like I'm back at the academy, being scolded by a teacher!' Focusing back on where she was, she estimated that the man was no more than 15 feet behind her. She would try a surprise attack, but she had no way of knowing if there was a barrier of any sort between them and it could prove quite troublesome if she went to throw a punch and ended up hitting tempered glass or steel bars.

"I guess there's no fooling an Akatsuki…" Sakura mumbled, pulling her body up into a sitting position. To her surprise, she found this action to be slightly difficult. The wear of her daring escape had set into her muscles and began to make them ache; not to mention she was well on her way to starvation and dehydration. For a split second she contemplated opening her mouth and catching that dripping water, but decided against it for sanitary purposes. "So why am I here?" She asked, finally deciding to turn around as she leaned her back against the wall she had been previously facing.

"I have an offer for you." The voice replied. Even if she squinted, Sakura couldn't make out so much as an outline of a person in the room with her. There was a solo lamp handing from the high ceiling of the cement room and the only barrier between her and the shrouded man was a curtain of pitch black darkness. She couldn't even make out how far the room went back. She needed to draw this man closer, despite what the logical part of her screamed, so that she could judge just who exactly she was dealing with.

"I will consider the option of an offer if I can see who is making it. As things stand now, I could be making a deal with the devil for all I know." Placing her feet flat on the ground, Sakura pulled her knees up to her chest in a defensive action that also allowed her the opening to spring onto her feet if needed. She felt the rough slide of gritty clothes over her skin and was momentarily distracted by the disgust of her current hygiene situation.

"You wouldn't be making a deal with the devil, kunoichi. You would be making one with a god." The man corrected as he stepped from the shadows. Sakura looked up in slight wonder as she took in his appearance. He couldn't have been shorter than 6'3", which was well over her 5'8" but not so big that she had a speed advantage and that could prove to be quite problematic in battle. He wore the usual black Akatsuki cloak with the trademark red clouds. His hair was an interesting shade of orange and his face was teeming with piercings.

But none of those details were what caught and held her attention. Cliché as it was, that detail was his eyes. Being an Anbu, Sakura had seen many different types of eyes, from the Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan, to the Hyuuga's Byakugan, and every eye color under the rainbow. But his, his were immensely unique. There was a rippling effect in them that was almost hypnotic as it pulled you in and the blank shade of the lavender/grey seemed to add to the never ending feeling when staring into them.

The silence drew out as Sakura continued to stare, awestruck, into the eyes of Akatuski's leader. "Captivating, aren't they?" It was only when she heard his teasing comment and noticed him smirking that she was finally able to shake of the minor state of hypnosis. Sakura scowled as she directed her attention back down to the ground.

"Pein." Sakura addressed him.

"So you know of me, I am flattered." The sheer calm of the situation was starting to become unsettling to Sakura.

"Of course I do. There isn't a single Bingo Book that doesn't contain each member of the Akatsuki. You and you're pack of heathens have gained quite the negative reputation." Sakura figured she may as well try to relax herself and just go with this atmosphere. Further stress would only add to her not so great condition and what's the worse that's going to happen if she let's her guard down?

"Heathen is such a bad choice of wording to describe us, excluding Hidan. I would say something more along the lines of Revolutionaries or Saviors." Pein crossed his arms, looking down at Sakura with a small smile.

"Revolutionaries? Saviors! That is the biggest load of shit I've heard in my entire life and believe me, being a ninja means I've been fed a lot of lies already. Saviors…that is the polar opposite of what you should be described as. You plan to wipe out not only Konoha, but every main village, just because you have a fucking god complex? How is that being a savior? Where I come from, we call that a psychopathic murderer!" Sakura spat out at him, the anger boiling in her blood and working her up with each word.

The smile disappeared from Pein's face and was replaced by a small frown. "You said it yourself Sakura," she cringed at the way her name sounded when he spoke it. "You've grown up being fed lies. A ninja, of all people, should realize that we don't live in a black and white world. Good and Bad is all objective and situational." Pein squatted down a few feet in front of Sakura and looked her dead in the eye. "If I have to kill a few to save many, is that bad?"

A look of shock passed onto Sakura's face and it took her a second to pull out a rebuttal. "But, you don't aim to take out merely a few. Entire villages full of ninja. That is not just a few people." Determination set into Sakura's eyes.

"You and I both know, Sakura," her teeth gritted and she glared at him. "That the average villager out-numbers the ninja by ten to one. What I set out to do is erase our world's problems. We have too many separate lands, each with too much power and that causes fighting. That causes the unnecessary loss of life. I wish to eliminate that. So tell me, am I still so very wrong in my morals?"

"That – you…yes! This has been the set up of our world for hundreds of years. Who are you to come and try to change that? You speak for the wants of one man, you don't consider how many people actually like the way life is right now. It's a selfish-" Sakura's argument was cut off when Pein's right hand shot out and his fingers wrapped around her throat.

"You know nothing of who I speak for." Pein growled. He leaned forward, putting his weight into pinning Sakura to the wall by her neck. Though his grip was like iron, it was controlled. Sakura wasn't having her blood or airflow ruthlessly cut off like when Kisame had choked her; she was simply being held in place like a dog who had just misbehaved. "You are a ninja, a high-ranking one at that, of a very powerful village. You may see a lot of horrible things in your life, you may be put through them, but you were trained for that." Pein's eyes held a fire that Sakura had only seen once before. It was the same fire that Sasuke's held when he talked of Itachi. "You, kunoichi, aren't put into compromising situation that you weren't prepared for on a daily basis. You don't suffer famine, disease, or hunger. You live a sheltered life."

Worry began to take over when Pein's grip steadily increased in pressure. Now her breathing was becoming labored, now she began to feel lightheaded from her blood being cut off. "I speak for the small towns that your village steps all over. I speak for the girls and boys sold into slavery because their family needs the money to pay taxes to your village. I speak for the women who've lost their husbands in pointless wars, for the children who grow up orphaned and alone because their parents died and they had no one else."

His last point struck a serious nerve in Sakura, and Pein saw that. "You know first-hand of those kinds of children. You're teammates, Naruto and Sasuke. They did not have parents to love and comfort them like you did. No, they lost that to their village. It is you, Sakura, who is selfish. Look at all you have, that so many others do not. Look at what your village has taken from your own friends, and then tell me that what I'm doing is wrong. You're village is corrupt and you know it, but you cannot act out because you are nothing more than a pawn to them."

Tears began to spill over Sakura's eyes as she thought of the pain and loneliness that her teammates faced. 'He's right.' She thought. 'After a tough or depressing mission, I could always go home to mom and cry. Mom would comfort me, tell me everything would be alright. What did Naruto, Sasuke and even Kakashi have? Nothing. They had nothing, and I had everything.'

"Sakura," Pein whispered, his eyes softening more than what she believed an S-class criminal was capable of. He removed his hand from her throat and placed it on the wall next to her head. "What I offer you, is freedom. A way out of your old, deceitful life and into a new one, full of truth and progress. In exchange for your help and cooperation, I offer you a chance to start over and make a difference. A positive one."

Sakura's mind was reeling. She was scared, no, she was terrified. Not of Pein, not of the Akatsuki, but of what they stood for. Sakura understood where he came from, what he wanted. But she was clueless as to how it could be possible. Everything she was taught, since being a child, has just been revealed to be a lie. In the academy, they has taught that the Akatsuki were a dangerous group of criminals who were blood-thirsty and would stop at nothing to take down the villages. They had never mentioned the motivation behind their plans.

"What will happen to Naruto?" Sakura whispered back. Pein smiled again, seeing that his words had set in and glad that Sakura hadn't rejected his ideas immediately like every other pawn of the village.

"We still need the Kyuubi. But, if you agree to join us in this conquest, then you can have a chance to save his life. During the extraction of the demon from its host, we rip away the force that tells the host to beat its heart and fill its lungs with air. That it what kills them. If you were to be by his side during that extraction, your medical ninjutsu could replace that force. You could beat his heart, fill his lungs with air, save him from the clutches of death."

"I - " Sakura took a deep breath and broke eye contact, turning her gaze down towards the ground. "I need time to think." She mumbled. There was another long pause and a heavy sense of both hope and despair hung heavy between them. Sakura could feel Pein's heavy gaze practically burning a hole into the top of her head.

"So be it. I'm sorry, but all I can give you is one week. Don't worry though, one week is all it should take to convince you that you can be useful here. You won't be a simple pawn, but an actual player." Pein stood up and she heard his footsteps as he turned to leave. "You will see that you've come to need us, just as we need you." His footsteps paused at the edge of the darkness.

"If it's not too much to ask, a bath and some food would be helpful. I can't really make a logical decision when all that's on my mind is my hunger and how disgusting these dirty clothes feel." Sakura requested with a small laugh.

"Of course, I will send Konan down shortly to retrieve and escort you to your new living quarters. Please do excuse this terrible holding cell, it was only used a precaution in case you were…uncooperative. I'm glad that you seem to have more sense then that, and that is why I can trust you on your own." There was lightness back in his voice that calmed Sakura, as well as a surprising hint of respect. "But just in case I am misjudging you, let me tell you this." Pein turned his head and locked eyes with Sakura as she had lifted her head. "If you try anything involving escape or bringing harm to one of my underlings, I will make sure that you regret it."

Sakura merely nodded and proceeded to watch his back as he disappeared into the darkness. 'I can't believe this is happening.' Sakura thought as she awaited the blue haired woman known as Konan. 'Naruto, am I making the right choice? I don't know if he's telling me the truth or just twisting my perception of it. I don't know what to think anymore.' She placed her chin upon her knees and sighed. 'Naruto, would you hate me for throwing my life away, just to help you?'


	4. Consensual Captive?

Chapter 4 – Consensual Captive?

_Suna: Village Hidden in the Sand_

The Kazekage groaned as his head dropped into his hands. The man's long, slender fingers slipped through his blood red hair and began to massage his scalp. The slow, pressurized circles on his temple were beginning to calm him down and relieve his stress. 'Where the hell are they? That stupid sister of mine better not have gotten them lost!' he though, a hint of a smile tugging at the corner of his pale lips.

There wasn't even a knock on the large double doors of Gaara's office before they opened. Sighing deeply and pushing his hands all the way through his hair before sitting up straight, Gaara addressed the intruder. "What is it now Kankuro?" Gaara's general look of irritation and lack of interest was replaced by one of oncoming worry when he gazed upon his brother.

Seeing as how Gaara had clearly assigned Kankuro to take a break from his job, Gaara had expected to see his brother come in looking comfortable and disheveled. To his surprise, Kankuro was not only fully dressed in his ninja wear, complete with face paint, puppets and all, but he was beat up. Small cuts and scrapes littered his face, along with smeared war paint, and his clothes were torn up pretty bad.

"Gaara, they aren't coming." He rasped out. Gaara shot out of his chair and rushed around his desk, over to his brother as Kankuro sunk to his knees. "They aren't going to make it here Gaara. Temari…Temari, she – Gaara she's dead." Tears were flooding down the puppeteers face and his gaze stayed fixated on the ground. Gaara wrapped his arms protectively around his older brother. Anger, hatred, and pain were rising up within him, but Gaara forced the feeling back down.

"You need to rest Kankuro. We will discuss this matter tomorrow when you've calmed down." Gaara whispered.

"Calmed down? CALMED DOWN! Gaara our sister is dead. FUCKING DEAD! How can you be so-" Kankuro stopped his rant when he looked up to make eye contact with Gaara. Though he hadn't outright show his emotion, Gaara's sea foam eyes were brimming with tears and filled with sorrow. Kankuro just smiled and moved to stand up. "Gaara, I'm sorry. I just, I just can't believe she's gone." He whispered.

Gaara helped his injured kin up and called out for help. "It's ok Kankuro, we can handle this. I promise you, I will avenge her. Whoever is responsible will pay with their own life." Gaara growled, handing his brother over to the two male jounin that had rushed into his office. "Get him to the hospital to be treated."

"Yes Kazekage-sama." The men replied, bowing before hauling away the injured puppet master.

'Temari….Sakura.' Gaara thought, turning to gaze out of one of the many windows in his office. 'What the hell happened?'

~X~~~X~~~X~~~X~~~X~~~X~~~X~~~X~~~X~~~X~~~X~~~X~~~X~~~X~~~X~

_Akatsuki Base_

Pein kept his promise and in what Sakura guessed was less than 15 minutes, a soft voice called out from the depths of the shadows. "Haruno-san, would you please follow me?" Sakura stood up slowly, brushing what dirt she could off of her black anbu pants, before stepping right up to the edge of the shadows. Konan must have sensed the hesitation in Sakura, for a small pale hand suddenly reached out from the darkness and was presented, palm up, to Sakura.

"It's ok Haruno-san. You are safe here." Konan cooed. Letting out a light sigh, Sakura raised her own hand and placed it over Konan's. Even from the shadows, Sakura could sense Konan smiling as her grip tightened and she led Sakura through the dark room. This caused Sakura's own rosy lips to curve up in a soft smile.

Although she couldn't see a thing, Sakura could feel when Konan had led her through a doorway. "Be careful Haruno-san," Konan advised, letting go of the leaf ninja's hand. "We are approaching stairs. There will be a railing on your right side which you can hold onto as we ascend."

"Thank you Konan-san." Sakura reached out to her right, gingerly running her hand along the cement wall until she felt the iron bar that was the railing.

"Please, just call me Konan." Sakura paused for a second, slightly taken aback.

'They...are nothing like I was informed about.' Sakura thought as she continued up the steps. "Well then Konan, please feel free to just call me Sakura. I have a feeling we'll be getting to know each other quite well in the next week." A light laugh echoed through the staircase and Sakura looked up at where Konan would be.

"And hopefully we'll be getting to know each other even more so after that as well." Konan laughed as she pulled a small set of keys from inside her Akatsuki cloak. "Welcome to the Akatsuki." Konan unlocked a door handle and pushed the door open, flooding the previously pitch black staircase with a bright light.

Sakura made a brief noise of discomfort as her eyes adjusted to the new lighting. Following Konan, she stepped out of the stairwell and into a long cement hallway. "It's not really much of an improvement from the holding cell, but at least it's brighter." Konan laughed, proceeding down the hallway.

"And it's less wet, I like that." Sakura giggled at her own joke. They walked for all of ten minutes, making civil small talk about the other Akatsuki members.

"Hidan is probably the only one who will cause you any major trouble. He's an asshole and he's damn proud of it. But don't worry, I give you full permission to pummel him if he gives you too much shit." Konan advised as she stopped in front of a door way. "This will be you're current living quarters." She opened the door for Sakura and motioned for her to enter. Remaining outside the door way, Konan continued "Pein's room is the door directly across from yours, but he's rarely ever in it so if you need anything, I'm down the hall and the 3rd door on the left. The bathroom is through the door on your left and I will be back soon with some new clothes for you. Go relax, you've had a rough day."

As Konan turned to leave, Sakura felt obliged to call out a very sincere 'Thank you!' and her smile grew even larger when she heard a faint 'It's no problem.' Sakura turned away from the entrance, shutting the heavy steel door behind her, and glanced around her new living space. It wasn't very roomy, but it had all of the necessities that a room should have.

Off in the corner right wall was a queen size bed with a simple light wooden frame and blank white sheets with two pillows. Sakura's eyes lingered on it, her mind being drawn back to the bed in her own room at home. 'No, no, no. Not right now.' Sakura thought, shaking her head to clear her thoughts. To her immediate right, in front of the bed, was a large wooden dresser and opposite the bed, on the left side of the room, was a matching desk with a simple chair and a half-empty bookcase pushed up beside it. Three bar shaped lights were embedded into the ceiling and cast a luminescent glow throughout the whole room.

Sakura laughed a bit at how nice this room actually was, considering the fact that she was technically being held prisoner. She turned to her left and turned a small brass handle, opening a wooden door that lead to the bathroom. Sakura stepped inside and closed the door behind her. She looked around, admiring the layout of the small bathroom. Reaching out her right hand, she ran her fingers across the stone counter. Taking a few steps forward, she led her hand into the divot of the sink and up to caress the handles and spout. There was a small porcelain toilet next to the sink, and past that was a cloudy white shower curtain.

Sakura stepped up the curtain and pulled it back slowly. The shower was beautiful. There was a small, two to three inch ledge to step over and into the cement shower, probably there to make sure the water doesn't flow over and onto the floor. A steel shower head came right out of the wall a couple inches above Sakura's head and the two temperature handles were under it at hip level. Three plastic bottles were placed in the corner of the shower, labeled Shampoo, Conditioner, and Body Wash.

Turning away from the shower, Sakura faced the large mirror that hung above the counter and sink. As she began to peel off her grimy clothes, Sakura had notice how her once mildly tanned skin had become an almost sickly pale. Her once vivid pink locks had become dull and crusted over with blood and dirt. There were dark circles under her eyes and her striking green orbs were blood shot, making the emerald color stand out even more.

Once stripped of all of her clothing, Sakura neatly folded the disgusting remnants of the rags and stacked them neatly on the counter. She went back to the shower, turning the hot all the way on and adding a bit of cold. The pipes creaked for a few seconds before water began pouring out of the shower head. In seconds, Sakura saw the steam coming off of the walls and thanked Kami that she was about to actually have a nice, hot shower.

Stepping in and pulling the shower curtain shut, Sakura stood still and just let the water run down her body. She could literally feel the caked on dirt and blood being rinsed from her hair and skin. After a couple of minutes of simply standing under the water, Sakura bent down and picked up the bottle labeled Shampoo. She popped the cap and took a deep breath of the contents of the bottle. Sakura almost choked, not because of the smell, but because of the irony of it. Cherries. It smelled like fucking cherries.

Pushing the negative thoughts out of her head yet again, Sakura poured a small amount of the clear thick liquid into her hand and then set the bottle back down. After massaging it thoroughly through her shoulder length hair, Sakura dipped her head under the fountain of water and let it rinse away. She repeated the process with the conditioner.

It wasn't until Sakura began applying the body wash that she fully realized the toll that the past couple days had taken on her body. Bruises of all shapes and colors had formed randomly along her arms and torso, the especially bad ones being where Itachi had nearly crushed her arm and Kisame almost crushed the life out of her. With a small sigh, Sakura focused a small amount of what was left of her chakra reserves and healed the small cuts and bruises. Her reserves were running dangerously low as she attempted to at least lessen the severity of the bruises on her forearm and neck. That's when she felt the lightheadedness. After nearly collapsing in the shower, Sakura decided to just leave those injuries for once she built her chakra back up.

Sakura finally turned the water off and stepped from the steaming shower, pulling a fluffy white towel off of the rack across the toilet and running it through her hair before wrapping it around her body. She felt immensely better after that shower, it literally worked wonders for her. Sakura glanced in the mirror once more before leaving the bathroom and instantly regretted it.

The bruises had looked worse than she thought. There were distinct fingerprints on her neck from where Kisame gripped her and the bruise on her forearm stretched from her wrist to almost her elbow and wrapped around half of it. 'Fuck.' Sakura thought. 'I need to take care of those as soon as I can.'

Her thoughts were interrupted when a loud knock resounded through her room. Sakura flipped the bathroom light off and walked briskly to the door. She opened it, expecting to find Konan with an armful of clothes, but was not so pleasantly surprised when she found two men standing outside her door instead.

"Wow Sasori-dana, she's even cuter in person yeah?" The blonde man spoke, leaning down to look at her face closer. Completely flustered, Sakura blushes and drew her towel closer around her before glaring daggers at the men.

"Deidara, you're making her uncomfortable." The red-head stated blatantly. "Here," the man named Sasori addressed Sakura, holding out a pile of linens to her. "Konan had an urgent matter to attend to so we were sent to deliver your clothes."

"But you know," Deidara cut in, leaning on the door frame and gazing seductively down at Sakura. "You could always just roam the house in a towel like that. We certainly wouldn't mi-…what happened to your neck?" he reached out to touch the large bruise on Sakura's throat.

Sakura leaned away from Deidara's hand and scowled, grabbing the clothes from Sasori's hands. Just as she took them from his grasp, Sasori reached out and caught Sakura's right hand, inspecting her other bruise. "And your arm?" he questioned, looking up and locking eyes with her. There was a strange seriousness in both his and Deidara's eyes as she looked between the men.

Sakura pulled her arm back and began closing her door. "Why don't you ask Itachi and Kisame?" she hissed. With the door closed, Sakura placed her back against it and slid down to the floor. For what seemed like hours, she just stared ahead of her at the empty wall on the other side of the room.

'I have to do this Naruto. I'm sorry that I have to break my promise to you. I know I said that I would be waiting for you at home when you got back from your training with Jiraiya. I know I said that we'd go out for ramen and visit Gaara and I'd help you get over your fear of asking Hinata out. But I have to do this Naruto. For you…for everybody.'

Sakura was surprised when no tears were shed. On the inside, her heart was broken and tears filled her soul, yet she couldn't let a single one out. 'Be strong.' Sakura thought. 'You can do this, just get up, get dressed, and wait for Konan. She'll be back.' Once Sakura reassured herself that everything was going to be alright, she began to follow her own advice.

Standing up, Sakura walked over to the dresser and set the clothing down on top of it. She smiled into the mirror as she pulled on a simple white pair of cotton underwear and a matching bra. Next came the plain black cotton tank top with a fishnet neckline that showed a little more cleavage then Sakura liked. After that were a pair of black spandex shorts and when she looked down at the last, large mass of clothing, she froze.

Slowly, Sakura reached down and picked up the mildly heavy piece of clothing. Pulling it fully off the dresser, she watched as the length of it dropped almost all the way to the floor and she examined the silky black material with eye-catching red clouds that stood out against the back ground. 'Well…it's either this, or walk around looking like a half-dressed hooker and risk my purity.' Sakura reasoned, pulling the soft material behind her and sliding her arms into the slots.

The cloak reached to the tops of Sakura's feet so that it was long, but not exceedingly so in which she might trip over the material. The sleeves fit snugly down to the elbow, but then flared out just a tad all the way down to mid-palm. The zipper of her cloak, she found, started on her left thigh and went up her hip, then crossed around up her stomach and couldn't go higher than collarbone level. This left a large slit down Sakura's left leg and a lot of her neck and chest exposed. Sakura had to admit, in any other situation, with any other design, she would have loved it.

When Sakura turned away from the mirror, she decided to squat and do a few other stretches to see how much mobility she had in the cloak. To her pleasant surprise, the material seemed to flow with her and instead of clinging to her skin and providing resistance, it slid along her to allow her to bend and twist however she would need. With a content sigh, Sakura leapt onto her bed and rolled over to face the ceiling. As she awaited Konan's return, Sakura's mind began to drift home and eventually, she was pulled into the wondrous land of dreams.


End file.
